S Korea elevates distancing as epidemic nears spring levels

Seoul: Beaches and churches are closed and baseball games will be played in empty stadiums on Sunday after South Korea added hundreds to its growing Coronavirus caseload amid concerns the epidemic is getting out of control.

The 397 new cases reported by South Korea's Centers for Disease Control and Prevention marked the 10th day of triple-digit increases and indicated that the speed of viral spread was nearing the levels last seen during the worst of the outbreak in spring.

The resurgence, which began in the densely populated capital area before reaching practically every major city and provincial town over the past week, is a major setback for the country that had been eager to tout its hard-won gains against the virus.

KCDC Director Jeong Eun-kyeong said things will probably get worse before they get better. The daily jumps could become even bigger in the coming days because health workers are increasingly struggling to keep up with the pace of infection, scrambling to trace and test the contacts of virus carriers, she said.

We don't see the current state as the peak ... we believe that infections could further increase, Jeong said during a virus briefing.

Patients are increasing not only in the Seoul metropolitan region, but also across the 17 (major) cities and provinces throughout the country, pushing us on the verge of a massive nationwide outbreak. After avoiding stringent social distancing measures because of concerns over hurting the economy, officials stepped up restrictions nationwide on Sunday.

They banned gatherings of more than 50 people indoors and 100 people outdoors and shut nightclubs, karaoke rooms, buffet restaurants and computer-gaming cafes. Churches can hold online services only while fans were removed from professional sports, just weeks after baseball and soccer teams had been allowed to sell limited portions of their seats.

The Seoul city government said it will require people to wear masks in public indoors and outdoors starting Monday. It wasn't immediately clear how the city could effectively enforce such requirements. Seoul has been mandating masks on mass transport since May, but enforcement has been relatively lax as it depends on bus drivers and subway station workers.

Some experts say such measures are too little and too late. There's a possibility that government officials this week could further elevate social distancing measures to Level 3, which could include prohibiting gatherings of more than 10 people, shutting schools, halting professional sports and advising private companies to have employees work from home. Sunday's jump in infections marked the third consecutive day they've crossed 300. Most of the new cases come from the Seoul area, home to half of the country's 51 million population.